Working Together for Language and Quality: Goethe-Institut DaF Betatesting at GESM

by Volker Schlieske

As a recognized German school abroad and a key intermediary organization in the Philippines, GESM has been an integral part of Germany’s foreign cultural and educational policy for many years, working closely with partner institutions such as the Goethe-Institut. This collaboration is built not only on tradition – for example, through the annual German Teachers’ Conferences in Manila, which we organize together with the Goethe-Institut, DAAD, and the German Foreign Office – but also on fresh ideas and exciting joint projects.

One such project offered a special opportunity this school year: GESM was invited to participate in the betatest phase of the Goethe-Institut language exams. In this phase, newly developed exam formats are tested under realistic conditions – voluntarily, but with the full seriousness of an official language examination.

A total of 44 students from grades 4 to 12 took on the challenge. The first group, grades 11 and 12, completed the betatest on CEFR level B2 on November 5. Focused, concentrated, and fully engaged, they handled the tasks with impressive skill. On December 9, grades 4 to 10 followed, taking tests at A1 and A2 levels.

For the younger participants, the day was a true adventure: for the first time, they experienced an official exam alongside the “older” students. Excitement ran high, pride was palpable, and the atmosphere was marked by concentration, respect, and remarkable discipline.

Now comes the waiting. While no official Goethe certificates are awarded during this betatest phase, all participants will receive detailed individual feedback. This provides valuable insight into their language skills – beyond classroom tests and DSD exams. Most importantly, it offered one thing above all: exam experience. And our students approached this challenge with great dedication and seriousness.

For GESM, this was the first time we participated in an external language test on such a scale – an experience that has enriched our language program and will certainly not be the last of its kind.

A special thanks goes to Ms. Jeanne Arroyo, who professionally and calmly administered the exams on behalf of the Goethe-Institut at our school.

We now await the results with anticipation – and are already proud of every single participant.